Washington (CNN) - As I walked into the East Room for President Obama's post-shellacking news conference, a colleague from another organization joked, "Get ready for 17 versions of the same question."

I laughed because his point was true, many of us in the White House press corps were about to ask Obama several versions of the same question: After losing more than 60 seats in the House and several in the Senate, did you really hear the message from voters?

Washington (CNN) - Politics is serious business, but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail, there's always something that gets a laugh. Here are some of the things you might have missed.

But mom, I was too busy dancing!

Bristol Palin, who's currently starring on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars," dropped a bombshell to "Inside Edition," saying she didn't send in her absentee ballot to Alaska. Mama Grizzly can't be too happy about that.

Next stop, the Olympics

Democrat Ed Perlmutter, fresh off his win in Colorado's 7th Congressional District, was so excited that he couldn't contain himself - or mock his opponent. According to the Denver Post, "playing off a TV ad his opponent ran during the campaign, Perlmutter wanted to prove he could do a real cartwheel." And a cartwheel, he did. Two of them.

(CNN) - If Sarah Palin decides to run for the Republican presidential nomination, geography could be decisive, as a new national poll indicates that voters in the south have a more positive opinion of the former Alaska governor than those living in the northeast.

According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday, 45 percent of people in the south have a favorable opinion of the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, with 45 percent holding an unfavorable view. But her favorable rating drops to 33 percent in the northeast, where 54 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Palin. Her favorable rating stands at 42 percent in the midwest and 40 percent in the west.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - In a sign the conservative movement intends to hold the newly-emboldened Republican leadership accountable in the wake of Tuesday's midterm elections, over 60 prominent activists on the right sent a letter Wednesday to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker-designate John Boehner and Republican Governors Association Chairman Haley Barbour urging the new GOP leadership to unify around a set of core principles.

Washington (CNN) – The 2010 midterm elections rocked President Obama and the Democrats' majority in the House of Representatives, but they also shook the electorate in a historic way. Exit polls conducted by CNN reveal big changes for traditional Democratic voters that may signal a shift unlike any we've seen before.

This November, less than half of women voters selected Democrats for Congress, 49 percent, and 48 percent broke for Republicans. This ties 2002 as the lowest ever female vote for Democrats. Conversely, the male vote for Republicans was the highest ever. Fifty-six percent of men voted for Republican candidates, setting another record for the GOP. Forty-two percent of men voted for Democrats.FULL POST

(CNN) – Sarah Palin has learned a lot about politics this midterm election season and now she's advising fellow conservatives on how to avoid a few of the perilous pitfalls that beset some of the candidates she backed in 2010.

In a column for the National Review, the former Alaska governor lays out several "lessons" of the 2010 campaign, including the need to "fight back the lies immediately and consistently."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - President Obama is readying for what the news media are now calling the "Slurpee summit." Following a post-election sit-down with his Cabinet Thursday, President Obama said he called Republican leaders Rep. John Boehner and Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Democratic leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid to come to the White House November 18th - at the start of the congressional "lame duck" session - for talks.FULL POST

(CNN) - Among the many reasons Democrats are giving for why so many lost faith in them at the polls on Tuesday, some are blaming the party for losing faith itself - for neglecting religious outreach and messaging in the run up to Election Day.

"It's been a real challenge organizing at the level of what was done in the last couple of cycles in faith constituencies because of a smaller staff and a small overall commitment," from the Democratic Party, said Burns Strider, who was hired by the party to help with faith outreach this year.

Washington (CNN) - Republicans wrested control of the House from President Barack Obama this week, and their next goal is to take the White House away from him, their leader in the Senate said Thursday.

If the Republicans want to repeal health care reform, end bailouts, cut spending and reduce the size of government, "the only way to do all these things it is to put someone in the White House who won't veto any of these things," Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation.FULL POST